Strode Theatre

La belle époque

• 2019
• France
• 1h 55min
• 15

• Directed by: Nicolas Bedos
• Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Guillaume Canet, Doria Tillier

Nicolas Bedos' film follows a couple in crisis.

Bolshoi Ballet: Giselle

The young peasant girl Giselle dies when she learns that the man she loves, Albrecht, has betrayed her. Against her will, she joins the wilis, vengeful spirits who now turn against Albrecht and condemn him to dance until he dies of exhaustion.

Boze Cialo (Corpus Christi)

• 2019
• Poland
• 1h 55min
• 15

• Directed by: Jan Komasa
• Cast: Bartosz Bielenia, Aleksandra Konieczna, Eliza Rycembel
• UK release: 18 October 2019

A 20-year-old man goes through a spiritual transformation at a Youth Detention Centre.

By the Grace of God

• 
• 2018
• France
• 2h 14min
• 15

• Directed by: François Ozon
• Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud
• UK release: 25 October 2019

Alexandre (Poupaud) is a 40-year-old bank executive who, like many others, was molested in his youth by local priest Father Bernard (Verley); he decides to confront the Archbishop of Lyon about it. A scrupulously researched procedural that’s already been dubbed ‘the French Spotlight ’, it has real urgency and strikes a…

Cats

• 
• 2019
• UK / US
• 2h
• PG

• Directed by: Tom Hooper
• Cast: James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, Francesca Hayward
• UK release: 20 December 2019

Victoria (Hayward) is a cat who find herself caught up with the tribe of the Jellicles, who are assembling to see which of them will ascend to the Heaviside Layer. For all the sheer vigour and professionalism of the performers, the ‘nakedness’ of the cats is unnerving and the end result is more flabbergasting than truly…

Citizen K

• 
• 2019
• UK, US
• 2h 8min

• Directed by: Alex Gibney

Documentary about oligarch-turned-agitator Mikhail Khodorkovsky, tracing his journey from one of the richest men in Russia to spending nearly ten years in a Siberian prison for fraud. A dizzying, roller-coaster ride of a film that grips like a political thriller and leaves the audience to make up its own mind.

The Gentlemen

• 
• 2020
• UK / US
• 1h 53min
• 18

• Directed by: Guy Ritchie
• Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
• UK release: 1 January 2020

American weed lord Mickey Pearson (McConaughey) wants to sell his billion-pound cannabis business to Matthew Berger (Strong), but there are many twists and turns to negotiate. A rock-solid gangster comedy in the Lock, Stock mode, with a snappy soundtrack: Ritchie at his sweary, violent, adorable best.

Greener Grass

• 
• 2019
• 1h 35min
• 12A

• Directed by: Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe
• Cast: Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe, Beck Bennett
• UK release: 22 November 2019

Jill (DeBoer) and Lisa (Luebbe) are would-be perfect soccer moms for whom all is not well. Combining Lynchian nightmare with a broadly comic bent, it’s like a demented spoof of Stepford Wives, and writer/directors DeBoer and Luebbe cleverly exploit an ultra-tight budget with enjoyably eccentric effect.

Harriet

• 
• 2019
• US

• Directed by: Kasi Lemmons
• Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr, Janelle Monae
• UK release: 22 November 2019

The true story of abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman (Erivo), who escaped from slavery and carried out numerous rescue missions to help family, friends and others. Erivo brings gravity and steeliness to a rather formulaic and superficial script, but at least it’ll get Tubman’s heroism more widely known.

In Search of Mozart

• 2005
• UK
• 2h 8min
• U

• Directed by: Phil Grabsky

Produced in association with the world's leading orchestras, opera houses and musicians, this is a journey through Europe, exploring the myths that surround Mozart.

Jojo Rabbit

• 
• 2019
• US
• 1h 48min
• 12A

• Directed by: Taika Waititi
• Cast: Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi, Rebel Wilson, Thomasin McKenzie, Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant
• UK release: 3 January 2020

Jojo (Davis) is a ten-year-old, obedient Nazi boy in WWII Germany whose mother (Johansson) is in the Resistance; Jojo reinvents Hitler (Waititi) as his oddball imaginary friend. Waititi ridicules Nazi ideology with aplomb, and as Jojo journeys towards enlightenment and reconnects with his humanity, it’s even rather…

Judy & Punch

• 
• 2019
• Australia
• 1h 45min
• 15

• Directed by: Mirrah Foulkes
• Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Damon Herriman, Benedict Hardie
• UK release: 15 November 2019

In sort-of Middle Ages Britain, puppeteer Judy (Wasikowska) is increasingly concerned by her husband Punch (Herriman) and his drunken aggression. This fictional origin story of the puppet show is a dark, funny, highly impressive feature debut by writer-director Foulkes, and despite a few stumbles it shows clarity of…

Knives Out

• 
• 2019
• US
• 2h 10min
• 12A

• Directed by: Rian Johnson
• Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer
• UK release: 27 November 2019

When mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) is found with his throat slit, puffed-up private detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) gets on the case. A wickedly knowing, flamboyantly bitchy take on the whodunnit, with a great cast, bags of style and a splendidly outrageous comic turn from Craig. Bloody good fun.

Little Women

• 
• 2019
• US
• 2h 15min
• U

• Directed by: Greta Gerwig
• Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Chris Cooper
• UK release: 26 December 2019

Adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel about a group of sisters growing up after the American Civil War. Gerwig’s affection and respect for the book is obvious but she boldly captures the transition from childhood to womanhood by playing with structure; an outstanding cast and skilful filmmaking make it a…

Ordinary Love

• 
• 2019
• UK
• 1h 32min
• 12A

• Directed by: Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn
• Cast: Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville, David Wilmot
• UK release: 6 December 2019

Joan (Manville) and Tom (Neeson) are a long-married couple whose contentment is shattered with Joan discovers a lump in her breast. The facts of cancer are covered in unsparing detail, but the acting makes it watchable, with Neeson investing Tom with gruff tenderness and Manville compelling as a woman who fears the worst.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

• 
• 2019
• UK
• 1h 59min
• PG

• Directed by: Armando Iannucci
• Cast: Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Aneurin Barnard, Ben Whishaw, Morfydd Clark, Peter Capaldi, Gwendoline Christie, Benedict Wong, Paul Whitehouse, Daisy May Cooper
• UK release: 24 January 2020

David (Patel) is an ever-optimistic orphan who’s given shelter by poor but worthy Mr Micawber (Capaldi). Iannucci brings out the lighter side of Dickens, and the result is a sprightly, breezy and colourful crack at a classic, with a fabulous supporting cast and a perfect turn by Patel as the likeable hero.

Royal Opera House: La Bohème

• 2017
• 03/10/2017

• Directed by: Richard Jones
• Cast: Nicole Car, Michael Fabiano, Mariusz Kwiecień

The beloved romantic opera beamed live from London in a new production by acclaimed director Richard Jones.

So Long, My Son

• 
• 2019
• China
• 12A

• Directed by: Xiaoshuai Wang
• Cast: Liya Ai, Jiang Du, Zhao-Yan Guo-Zhang
• UK release: 6 December 2019

Yaojun (Wang Jingchun) and Liyun (Yong Mei) are a married couple whose son drowns while playing with friends. Epic drama of 40 years of Chinese life, with a candid, observational eye; tumultuous and wrenching but ultimately an uplifting tale of the resilience of the humans spirit.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

• 
• 2019
• US
• 2h 22min
• 12A

• Directed by: JJ Abrams
• Cast: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams
• UK release: 19 December 2019

Emperor Palpatine (McDiarmid) is back and building an army, so Rey (Ridley), Poe (Isaac), Finn (Boyega) and the gang go up against him and Kylo Ren (Driver). The internal and external battle of Ridley and Driver is the strongest element, with magnetic chemistry, but elsewhere it’s disappointing fan service, a film that…

The Thin Red Line

• 1998
• US
• 2h 50min
• 15

• Directed by: Terrence Malick
• Cast: Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, Jim Caviezel, Ben Chaplin, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Elias Koteas, Nick Nolte, John C Reilly, John Travolta

This is very much a director's film, with the mythic and revered Malick as the star. Movie A-list types make cameo appearances, while the bulk of the action centres on the boys from Company C, the luckless outfit charged with taking a vital hilltop stronghold in the battle for Guadalcanal.

What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?

• 
• 2018
• Italy / US / France
• 2h 3min

• Directed by: Roberto Minervini
• Cast: Kevin Goodman, Dorothy Hill, Judy Hill
• UK release: 15 October 2018

A documentary about New Orleans, looking at lives in an African-American community in the summer of 2017: Judy, a bar owner struggling with the effects of gentrification; the local chapter of the New Black Panthers; and half-brothers Ronaldo King and Titus Turner. A poignant tribute to the culture, music and tradition of…

The Wolf's Call

• 
• 2019
• France
• 1h 55min

• Directed by: Antonin Baudry
• Cast: François Civil, Omar Sy, Mathieu Kassovitz
• UK release: 6 December 2019

Chanteraide (Civil) is an acoustic warfare analyst working in French submarine surveillance, and he and D’Orsi (Sy) uncover a conspiracy aiming to start a world war. Muscular, absorbing, gung-ho French thriller with some good action, grounded in plausible human drama.